STARFROST HAVE INSTALLED A STATE-OF-THE-ART FREEZING SYSTEM FOR NORDIC SEAFOOD PROCESSOR, BÅTSFJORDBRUKET, ENABLING THE FIRM TO INCREASE PRODUCTION CAPACITY BY 35% WHILE ENHANCING HYGIENE PROCESSES.

Posted on July 21, 2021January 9, 2026 by

Based on the northern side of the Varanger peninsula, Norway, Båtsfjordbruket is a subsidiary of the large seafood corporation, Insula AS. The group’s primary focus is the development, processing and sale of fish and seafood products across the Nordic region. Insula’s corporate portfolio consists of a number of seafood companies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

Båtsfjordbruket has invested £7 million in a growth development plan in order to meet rising demand for its seafood products. The recent business expansion included a site extension and new processing equipment for its new frozen fish fillet production line.

Cooling equipment manufacturer Starfrost designed a highly efficient spiral freezer which features cutting-edge sanitising technology, enabling the seafood firm to increase product throughput and fully automate freezing processes within the new production line.

Frank Kristiansen, CEO of Båtsfjordbruket, outlines the benefits of the new spiral freezer:

“Our recent investment to expand our factory and increase product capacity provided a great opportunity to implement new freezing technology in our processing line. We selected Starfrost as our freezer supplier based on company reputation and global service support. Starfrost equipment is renowned for its reliability and we were happy with the specification they provided, which supports our focus for high efficiency and high performance within our factory lines.”

“The Helix spiral freezer is a fully automated system that minimises contact handling. This, combined with a seamless enclosure construction that features an automated cleaning system, delivers improved hygiene safety within production. The high-tech efficiency of the freezer means we are able to produce more frozen seafood product in a more cost effective way than we were before. Our processing times have been reduced and we have boosted capacity by 35%, with plans to increase this figure once we are running at maximum production capacity.”

Båtsfjordbruket’s compact Helix spiral freezer processes 2500kg of fish fillets per hour, including cod, saithe and haddock and has been designed with horizontal airflow technology for consistent, controlled freezing that is gentle on delicate seafood products. The spiral freezer houses 170 m² of stainless steel belt enabling large capacities of seafood products to be frozen within a small factory footprint.

Controlled with an intelligent HMI screen, the freezer features programmable settings for precise temperature reduction and freezing times for individual products, which is both energy efficient and flexible to the seafood processor’s existing and future production requirements.

Jonathan Fox, Export Sales Manager, Starfrost:

“The Helix spiral freezer installed at Båtsfjordbruket has provided significant efficiency and throughput benefits, thus enabling a maximum return on investment. The stainless steel and fully accessible design ensures highest hygiene levels and ease of maintenance. The addition of a Clean in Place (CIP) System delivers a repeatable, cost effective method of cleaning and sanitising. Latest advancements in Starfrost’s CIP technology have enabled a reduction of water usage from 100 litres per minute to 8 litres per minute. The innovative new design delivers the highest hygiene levels whilst decreasing the volume of detergent and sanitiser.”

NEWCOLD ANNOUNCES NEW GLOBAL LEADERSHIP TEAM AND STRUCTURE

Posted on July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 by piet.meijs@newcold.com

NewCold is pleased to announce changes to its leadership and organization structure as it continues its transformation into a faster, leaner and more agile company poised for global growth. The changes are designed to further strengthen the execution of the company’s strategy in regional markets. The new, simpler management structure will provide greater clarity on responsibilities, and new reporting lines will strengthen leadership accountability and long-term stewardship.

“NewCold prides itself on its disciplined execution, deep industry expertise and its entrepreneurial mindset. These important changes ensure that NewCold is future-fit, helping us to unlock our full potential and successfully manage rapid growth across our global footprint. Our leadership team is purpose-built for collaboration and poised to take NewCold to another level and set standards to which others aspire,” NewCold Chairman and Founder Mr Hage said.

Leadership appointments:

The organizational changes will see NewCold’s operations, by regions or countries, led by management teams, replacing the traditional role of a Managing Director. The newly created roles, all based in the European headquarters, report to Bram Hage, Chairman and Founder of NewCold.

Abhy Maharaj has been appointed Executive VP Business and Growth. He will be responsible for strategy and investment capital, customer and business development and people and brand. Previously he was Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer and based in Australia.

Hans Otto has been appointed Executive VP Development. He will be responsible for greenfield development program management, engineering and industrial design. Previously he was VP Developments and Legal.

Frank Huckschlag has been appointed Executive VP Global Operations. He will be responsible for operations continuous improvement, and supply chain strategy. Previously Frank was the Managing Director for Europe.

Jos van Rijswijk has been named Executive VP Group Finance. He will be responsible for accounting, treasury, tax, business performance reporting and finance CoE.

David Sanders has been appointed Executive VP Group Legal and Governance. New to the company, following a distinguished corporate legal career, he will be responsible for external counsel, legal advice and governance. Previously he was head of Legal Affairs at Strukton Civiel.

The newly created role of Executive VP Technology and Innovation is subject to an appointment. The role will be responsible for NewCold’s proprietary software and automation technology, security, IT infrastructure, technology and innovation. An announcement will be made in due course.

Mr Hage said: “This is a formidable team of leaders that bring with them a strong track record of success. Together they will drive our performance and help deliver our growth ambitions. Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to invest in our business and address the many evolving opportunities in the region, whilst also supporting NewCold’s overall transformational organizational plan to better serve our fast-moving and growing markets with increased speed and capabilities.”

LAMB WESTON’S DUKES OF CHIPPINGDOM CAMPAIGN WINS THE 2021 B2B INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN AT THE DRUM AWARDS FOR MARKETING

Posted on July 21, 2021 by

Lamb Weston strikes gold again with its marketing agency, Art of the Possible, by winning the 2021 B2B Integrated Campaign at the Drum Awards for Marketing. Along with its creative agency, WAA Chosen, an innovative strategy for the launch of Lamb Weston’s Dukes of Chippingdom clinched the win against contenders such as Click Travel, Barclaycard Business and Monster Energy (Coca Cola).

By using a combination of digital and social platforms, Art of the Possible came up with a memorable campaign that smashed all the targets that were set and placed the Dukes of Chippingdom firmly onto plates in pubs.

A gap in the out of home market was identified with consumer research and what followed was a series of interviews, focus groups, data analysis and product testing to come up with the strongest proposition for Lamb Weston’s new product.

73% of all dining out occasions feature chips and Lamb Weston grasped an opportunity to produce an excellent thick cut chip with a handmade look and all the attributes that the consumer looks for in a great chip, namely a golden colour, a crispy exterior and fluffy inside. But this chip was extraordinary as it was the Company’s first 100% British chip, made from 100% British potatoes!

To stand out, the Dukes of Chippingdom were given a personality that offered heritage and nostalgia in line with the target market – the British pub – and promoted Lamb Weston as an innovative company that was approachable and understanding of the needs of pub operators, and pub goers.

Posting across different social platforms, at times when chefs would be online, the Company’s brand position was to become a true ‘partner in potatoes’ offering POS, free samples and other operational support to both wholesale and operator customers.

Andrea Deutschmanek, International Marketing Lead Northern Europe, Lamb Weston; “We are so proud to have achieved external recognition by renowned marketing experts at the top of their game for the Dukes of Chippingdom launch campaign. We wanted to create a forward-thinking brand and working with the team at Art of the Possible, we were able to conceive a novel campaign for a clearly defined market, since we’d done our homework; digital marketing is critical nowadays in telling a brand story. Our thinking was based on real consumer research, trends and NPD innovation – because every pub deserves proper British Dukes of Chippingdom.”

Kat Patterson, Managing Director, Art of the Possible; “We’re incredibly proud to be working with such brave and passionate clients. Andrea is focused on the customer and leverages real insights to help develop products that make a difference in the market, and our job is to collaborate with our clients, building campaigns that do their products justice. It was exciting and refreshing to work with the Lamb Weston team, and we are thrilled to have been recognised by The Drum for our passion for marketing – as well as potatoes!”

The judging panel was a collective of top flight marketers from around the globe including Lisa Batty, Head of Brand Strategy, Tik Tok; Nishma Robb, Director of Brand Reputation, Google UK; Matthew Barwell, Chief Marketing Officer, Britvic and Jan-Paul Jeffrey, Head of Marketing, VISA.

For innovative ideas, recipes and potato inspiration, head over to www.lambweston.eu/uk, call 0800 963962 or email us at salesUK@lambweston.eu

DEFRA SURVEY ON LABOUR SHORTAGES

Posted on July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Following pressure from the BFFF and a wide range of trade associations on the current issues facing members on shortages of labour, Defra have issued a survey to gather data on the issue.

As we have written over the last few weeks the current crisis around the shortages of HGV drivers is only the tip of the iceberg, with many members reporting a range of skill shortages, with engineering seeming to be critical and indeed labour generally.

One member advised me last week that an agency was only able to supply 45% of the labour they required.

This situation is only being made worse by the current issue with the track and trace system, although the announcement on Monday. However, despite Boris Johnson saying quite clearly that people working in food supply chain would be classified as key workers when we asked for clarity from David Kennedy of Defra this was his response.

The scheme announced last night was for specialist roles that are instrumental to functioning of the industry, defined very narrowly, i.e. no more than a handful in a business or facility.

From this we must conclude that our members work force will not be considered key works.

The deadline for the Defra survey is 22^nd July, although we are pressing for the deadline to be extended.

CGA – THE TOP 100 TOWNS REPORT

Posted on July 20, 2021January 9, 2026 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

CGA have kindly shared with us their latest Top 100 Towns report covering a 4 week period from 6^th June to 3^rd July 2021. This is exclusive for Trading Index partners.

The Top 100 Towns report captures outlets trading both indoors and outdoors. Here are a couple of key take-outs:

Overall, Top 100 towns across GB have seen a good performance as 95 towns have traded with less than -30% decline compared to 2019.
Smaller towns like Huddersfield (+13.1%), Exeter (+11.2%), Stoke-On-Trent (+7.2%), and Cardiff (+3.8%) have been the top performers compared to the equivalent 4 week period in 2019, whilst the 3 lowest performers were Luton (-44.4%), Halifax (-42.1%), and London (-35.2%).

Please note that this report calculates the year on year % change versus 2 years ago (i.e. corresponding period in 2019), the market was closed in the equivalent period in 2020.

UK Top 100 Towns Report Trended View_3rd July 2021

Click Here to view the full report.

Government Issues HGV Driver Shortage Letter to Industry

Posted on July 20, 2021January 9, 2026 by Sarah Collison

Government has announced a package of measures to help address the shortage of hauliers. Today (20 July) the government has published an open letter to the UK Logistics Sector and announced plans to increase lorry driving tests.

Driving test waiting times

DVSA recognise the impact of the pandemic on vocational lessons and tests. Since vocational testing restarted following the easing of restrictions, they have typically made a total of 3,000 vocational tests available per week compared to 2,000 pre-pandemic.
This has been done by:
• asking all those qualified to conduct vocational tests
• offering additional out of hours tests where they can and where there is a demand

Work has been done to develop measures to maximise testing capacity. This includes:
• plans to help address the lorry driver shortage and meet the demand for lorry tests by prioritising vocational tests
• making changes to the booking process to help allocate the vocational driving examiners more efficiently and make sure that they are carrying out as many lorry tests as possible
• starting the process of recruiting 40 new vocational examiners, which will help reduce vocational waiting times
• updating the guidance which helps candidates get information to better prepare for their vocational test

Further action

The government is also planning to consult on changes to lorry licences and tests. We will advise how you can share your views on these proposals when we have further information.
For information about these government proposals and others read the Government open letter to the UK Logistics Sector.

Keeping you up-to-date on progress

DVSA said “We know this is a critical issue for the industry and so we will continually measure our progress in reducing vocational test waiting times”.

DVSA will report on the progress of the plan to increase vocational driving test capacity times every 3 months, following the publication of the driving test quarterly statistics. This will include the number of vocational tests that have been carried out and the latest pass rates.
They will continuously measure progress in reducing vocational test waiting times, and will assess the impact of all the actions in this plan.

The plan might change as:
• They learn more about what’s working well
•Find out what’s not working as we’d hoped
• As new ideas emerge

It could also change based on government COVID-19 restrictions. For updated progress visit GOV.UK, by email and on social media.

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